New poll results show 53 percent of those surveyed couldn’t recall struggling harder to make ends meet
A majority of Americans now say the cost of living is the worst they can remember — and most of them blame President Donald Trump for their predicament.
Poll results published Friday by Politico showed 53 percent of those surveyed couldn’t recall struggling harder to make ends meet, up from 46 percent in November.
The poll by Public First also found 46 percent felt Trump was fully or mostly responsible for the state of the economy, unchanged from six months ago.
It’s a valid comment, but I disagree that you have to reach that conclusion.
This poll gives a better picture of US citizens’ ability (or lack thereof) to obtain and understand basic facts when you combine it with actual data. I.e., the facts alone tell us only what reality is, and the opinion poll alone only tells us what Americans think, but together they tell us how well-informed Americans are.
That, in turn, helps suggest (even if proof is harder) how effective right-wing information technology is, how seamless the Fox News/influencer/social media info bubbles are.
And, as depressing as it is, opinions (the perceptions of a party’s or candidates’ culpability and capability) decide elections where reality and opinion are in conflict. 2024 proved at least to me that we have reached an inflection point and entered the Disinformation Age, where propaganda actually can consistently win out against reality by sheer flood of disinformation, if it’s not moderated or regulated.